A Carlisle resident has said that the bus service in the city is ‘not fit for purpose’.
Leanne Stevenson claimed that the Carlisle service is now “unusable” due to regular cancellations, delayed trips, and broken-down buses.
In response, Stagecoach stated that in spite of several “challenges,” they have managed to run over 97% of services.
Leanne commented, “The service has drastically declined.”
“As a parent who drives her children to Newman School, I’ve noticed a significant increase in traffic surrounding the school because parents are now compelled to drive their children to and from school in order for them to get there on time and get home safely. There are very few buses operating on time at the moment.”
Leanne also said that the 67 service, which goes past St John Henry Newman school had been ‘frequently’ late during school exam season causing some children to be late for GCSE exams.
“During exam period, buses weren’t tearing up, so kids weren’t getting to school in time for their exams, which was very stressful for them.
“I’ve just gone out this morning with my kids and there was another bus stranded because it’s broken down again
“Buses after buses are just breaking because they’re just useless – it’s just absolute chaos and I think there’s a lot more traffic on the road in Carlisle now because the reason the bus is running.”
“We are aware of some issues which have been affecting the reliability of our 67 service recently, many of which are outside of our control,” a Stagecoach spokesperson stated in response to her accusations.
“Although we acknowledge that there have been a few malfunctions, the service has also been impacted in recent weeks by major road construction, including the closure of Belle Vue concurrently with the closure of Blackwell Road, St Nicholas Bridges, and St Nicholas Street, resulting in delays or detours for vehicles.
“Despite these difficulties, we are still able to complete over 97% of our trips, and our hard-working depot team strives to provide dependable services in the City.”
